Can u guys help me figure out how to help my gf so that she has more energy? She is on aderal and she has other medication but i'm not sure on what I can do or what she can do to help her gain more energy. She is always tired but she really doesnt need any sleep cause she will get too much sleep and energy drinks aren't that great for her cause it has a negative affect on her after cause it brings her mood way down. So do you guys have any advice?

I don't know what you can do, but I know my pdoc frowns major major big time on Energy Drinks and Weight Loss pills as they counteract most of the BP Mood Stabilizers/Anti-Psychotics and some Anti-d's. *l* my pharmacist won't even sell me an energy drink....

Try and get her to exercise everyday...Even if it is only 20 minutes. Get her up and moving and that may help bring her energy level up. My tdoc tells me to have a goal for everyday...even if it's one tiny thing, like going to the library or getting a load of laundry done...just have a goal. This is to give motivation to get up and going in the morning. She should get up at the same time everyday, and try to get 8 hours of sleep a night. Getting up at the same time every morning is very important to helping her. I know it's so hard, as I am having the hardest time this week even accomplishing my one goal per day, as I have no energy either, but I have been forcing myself to do stuff, which in the long run can help.

I hope this helps your girlfriend! What a great boyfriend you are! Very dedicated to helping her. She is lucky to have such support from you.

Thanks caitlin thants great to here and it gives me the strength frome everyone that tells me that when times get tough, especially thank you kat, but ye next week we will most def get her waking up at the same time everymorning and it should become habbit cause I'll do it with her no matter what time it is. But the 8 hours is going to be tough but I know that her and I can make it possible. But she is going for a walk almost every day and she has asma so it prevents her from running a ton so her and I always try to go for a walk for at least 20 min. It kinda seems like that is almost not enough but it might be because the times that she has been waking up and going to sleep. We have midterms this week so its really tough to find time for everything. Has anyone ever tried the 5 hour energy drinks cause she drank a half of on (which u need to do for longer lasting energy according to the bottle) and she is doing great once I got her to open her books and look at them and started talking about the material with her. So I guess my real question is has anyone had a bad after affect like the energy drinks?

When I was IP in November, December and recently, the attending pdoc required me to have a protein drink with every meal. He said this was to help improve my mood and increase my energy since I had a poor appetite and don't drink whenever I'm manic or depressed. It definitely helped and didn't negatively interfere with my BP meds either. The protein drink I had was made by Carnation and is called Carnation Instant Breakfast. My GP also recommends that I always keep protein drinks in my fridge (given my low weight), so I make sure to stock up on plenty of Carnation.

Brand new noob here but I have to completely agree with caitlin and dreams on this one. Get her as active as is considered safe by her Dr. Energy can grow on some of us but not all. Even a quite evening at home playing a board (or even video) game she really enjoys can help. Pumping iron isn't what I mean just find something you both can enjoy together and build on it. The more exercise the better but just lifting her spirit (and yours) can help.
Best of luck!

Another recommendation is to do gentle exercise by moving your arms and legs in various positions. Try listening to your favorite music (I listen to the digital music channels on cable or Internet music) while doing this. The exercise doesn't need to be rigorous and even if you only do this for 15 minutes a day, it's better than nothing.

Thanks for telling me about the protien shakes and apparently her sister takes thos every morning. So I'll try to get her on those every morning and have carry 2 in her car and one with her just in case. But she isn't over or under weight, if she starts taking these is she going to gain any weightn cause she is very upset with the way she looks (from childhood experiences), so should she do way more exercise? And also does it matter when she takes it? Like in the morning, afternoon,dinner?

Protein drinks won't cause you to gain alot of weight. What they do is provide nutrients that the body may be missing.

I don't know if it matters when a person has a protein drink, but I would suggest having one first thing in the morning since this could help increase her energy.

When I had protein drinks at the hospital, I found that they really helped my moods and energy level. I always felt better after each meal because of them.

Unfortunately, although I have plenty of Carnation here at home, I don't drink it as often as I should because I don't eat when I'm manic or depressed. I'm also not hungry most of the time, so I don't feel the need to drink anything.

Thank you for that cause I know that I usually drink protien shakes after an intense workout so its probably not the same. But I'm not sure if this helps at all but my gf just got on a medication that makes her not want to eat at all, so what kinda worked for her was putting little motivation on the box or even a picture that makes u think of a happy though and if someone can help u make the drink then that would help a great deal too. I hope everything gets better

I really like your suggestions. Thanks for passing them along. I'm totally blind and can't see pictures, but I can use everyday objects. Thanks again.

As for protein drinks, what I'm thinking about doing is setting aside time every weekend (when I feel well enough) to prepare several protein drinks for the week. This would allow me to keep them in my fridge and drink them during the day. Sometimes I don't feel like preparing them myself even though it only takes 3 steps.

My sister and her boyfriend come to my home every day to bring me a meal. I could always ask them to prepare my protein drinks on days when I'm angry/irritable or depressed. Thanks for that suggestion as well!

thats great to here that there are people there for you, you are so lucky to have them. My gf, before me she had real characters for boyfriends cause she would get depressed and they would just drive her home and leave her there. there is a reason why she won't tell me their names, cause i know way too many people like cops and also worse so i respect her and i wont go after them until they give me a reason. But i'm so glad to here that there is someone there for you

I am too. My sister was the one who literally saved my life when I had my first manic/psychotic episode in 2006. I was so severely psychotic and manic that I kept denying anything was wrong with me. She ended up calling 911 and having the police take me to the ER. I'm so glad she did because if it weren't for her help, I probably wouldn't be here today.